


Breaking Boundaries

by Beaconestbacon117



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, F/M, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29365734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beaconestbacon117/pseuds/Beaconestbacon117
Summary: Sometimes changing someone's life will cause ripples that will change all others. Nick Wilde works with his mother and brother at Wilde Style when an old friend and ZPD's first rabbit officer drag him from his own comforts into one of the biggest cases in Zootopia.
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An old story I found and currently rewriting. I loved the premise and I regret giving up on it. Updates will be very sporadic as some chapters need more work than others and I only wrote till chapter 16. So enjoy an old story from 2016.

Judy Hopps has been stuck doing parking duty for a week now and it was only worsening as the month wore on. She was constantly yelled out, insulted, and demeaned almost daily. She hasn't had a real case since she began working, despite her valedictorian status. The orange vest she wore seemed more like a straight jacket, confining her potential and sealing it away. She drove a golf cart around the city and was expected to feel proud of it.   
She sighed as she slapped another ticket on the windshield of a car she passed. She didn't want to stick around for the owner to return and cuss her out.   
She steadily made her way up the street until she saw a red fox sitting quietly on a bench. He was dressed in a white dress shirt with a dark blue tie and brown slacks. What Judy was most interested in was the paper bag next to him. It was unmarked and stapled closed. Judy watched silently from the sidelines as she judged the shifty animal. An otter walked up to him and struck a conversation with him. The fox pulled out a card and looked from the otter to the card. The fox then gave the otter a warm smile and traded the bag for a wad of bills. This only heightened Judy's suspicions and she waited several minutes until the fox jumped off the bench and walk away with his hands in his pockets. Judy rushed forward and cut him off from his path. The fox jumped back in surprise and pulled his hands out of his pockets as he stared at the rabbit in confusion.  
“Um, what's with the get-up?” The fox asked with a raised brow. He didn't think she was a real police officer. She felt one of her buttons being pressed and she almost snapped. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.  
“It's not a get-up,” Judy answered with venom in her deceptively sweet voice. “It's a uniform.”  
“Oh,” the fox had a spark realization in his green eyes and a smug grin appeared on his face. “You must be that token bunny that Mayor Lionheart put on the force!” Judy felt her ire rising slowly the more he talked. “I was worried you were a real cop.”  
“I’m not a token bunny!” She growled.   
“Then, why are you on parking duty when you should be on the field?” The fox asked innocently. Judy stopped her retort and shut her mouth. “I mean, I've seen you everyday for a week acting meter maid. It used to be a nice old armadillo that was against predator and prey segregation. Good guy. Now there is a rabbit who looks like she has something better to do.” Judy looked him in the eye and pointed at him accusingly.  
“Well, I'm not the one selling unknown substances to otters!” She spat. “And even though I am a meter maid, I can still arrest you for suspicious behavior.” The grin on the fox’ face slowly melted and his eyes hardened to a defensive look.  
“Would you arrest me if I was a rabbit?” He asked slowly. Judy dropped her hand and bent her head in shame. She wouldn't have given it a second thought. “I take that as a no.” The fox looked down at his hand and clenched it tightly.  
“And if you think you will get anywhere in this city, forget it. You can't change the world,” his voice took a more hurt and solemn tone as he looked back up. “You can only prove the world wrong. And that badge of yours will only hold you back from doing that.” He brushed past her and stopped so that the back of his hand almost touched her shoulder.  
“And so that everything is clear, that was a tie and sweater vest that I gave to Mr. Otterton, not some drug.” He said with a clipped tone. “Just so you don't waste your time or my own.” He walked away with his hands jammed back into his pockets. Judy looked blankly at her badge and replayed what the fox said multiple times in her head. She only took one thing from his words. She can prove everyone wrong.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Nick entered the brightly lit store of Wilde Style with a definite slump. His brother, Samuel, was behind the front desk, sewing a suit together. The place was occupied by several predators customers. Only predators. Nick shuffled to the front desk, opened the small door and passed his brother without a word. It took several seconds for Samuel to notice his brother's presence and his blue eyes centered right on his brother. Nick just shrugged and continued going further into the store until he reached the stairs leading to their living quarters. He trudged up the steps and went into one of the three rooms. Nick's room was very tidy, everything organized like it should be.   
He began looking through a stack of newspapers on his desk until he found the one from the week prior.  
‘WELCOME TO THE FORCE, JUDY HOPPS!’ The headline was above a picture of a rabbit in a police uniform, the exact same one he met earlier. Last week he was impressed with the bunny. Now he just felt disappointment. He opened his junk drawer and tossed the newspaper inside, right next to the stack of denial letters from the ZPD.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;;;;;  
“Clawhauser, do you know any clothes shop that has fox employees?” Judy asked.   
“I know one that is owned by foxes,” The chubby cheetah chuckled. “Wilde Style. Very well known to low and middle class predators.”   
“Why would that be?” Judy asked as she absently went through Furbook.   
“Most high-end clothing stores decline service to predators without status,” Clawhauser explained. “But Wilde Style is affordable to all and denied to no one. My sister and her husband had their clothes made their for their wedding.” Judy would ask more about Clawhauser's sister and her wedding later. If someone he knew was serviced by them, the maybe he knew the fox she met earlier, if he worked for them.  
“So you're acquainted with them?” Judy asked. The cheetah nodded and a donut fell from his neck and he scooped it up and popped it into his mouth. “And do they have a red fox with green eyes and a snarky attitude?”  
“You mean Nick?” The cheetah said in disbelief. “He's co-owner of the store with his brother and mother.”  
“And you're sure that they are trustworthy?” Judy pressed.  
“Of course!” The cheetah reassured. Then he became thoughtful for a second before adding,” Nick may have some secrets. He used to be the smartest kid in school. Two years younger than me and he graduated valedictorian in my class. He went to community college and I didn't see him for six years, until I found him with his brother at the store.” Judy was unconvinced that a family of foxes could run a successful business. She would have to visit the store herself and be the judge of the foxes. Tomorrow, because her feet were killing her and she wanted to get home before six.


	2. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Nick is only slightly older than Judy, being 27 to her 23. Also, there are some serious issues with the writing later on in this story, especially pacing. So at a certain point the chapters will be more spread out as I fix the mistakes of pre-highschool grad me.

Chapter 2

Nick lay in his bed, counting the dots on the ceiling. He heard his brother’s wife check on him in the last thirty minutes several times. They were worried about him. That lifted his spirits up a little. He sighed and turned on his side to face the far wall. It was hard to keep his promise to his father and respect every mammal he meets when they don't respect him. His eyes landed on his junior ranger sash, which was filled with badges. He got every single badge possible, amazing both his scout leader and troop members. He was then discharged from the group by the junior ranger administration. Both his pack and his leader tried to keep him in their group, but the administration charged him with disorderly conduct with heavy evidence. He learned from his father that the only evidence that they had against him was that he was a fox.  
His father only told him to hold it in and not let them see that they got to him. He stared at his sash for an uncertain amount of time until he heard a soft rap on his doorframe. He tilted his head down and saw his mother standing in the hall. She was a more feminine version of him, right down to the unnaturally fluffy scruff. She wore a pair of overalls over a white tank top that did not compliment her at all.  
“Come in,” Nick sighed. The vixen closed the door behind her and moved to sit at the foot of his bed.   
“Your brother said you came in angry, Nicky,” she began after a minute of silence. “And usually you would have made Finnick rage by now, so I'm a little worried.” Nick wasn't sure if talking with his mother was the best idea at the moment. She was a crude and unfiltered vixen that was a master at ruining conversations. Without trying.  
“Just thinking,” he decided to tell her. It was vague and relatively harmless, which is the best way to start a conversation with his mother. She readjusted herself so that she didn't have to turn as much to face her son.   
“Nicky,” she sighed. “The last time you were ‘just thinking,’ I found out you were denied by the ZPD nine times.”  
“Ten,” Nick corrected.  
“The point is,” she continued, ignoring his interruption. “Is that whenever you say ‘just thinking,’ it means that you have something on your mind that is weighing you down. And as your mother, it's my duty to make sure that you're okay. So what's bothering your fluffy head?” Nick weighed his options that he currently had. He could legitimately tell his mother the truth and suffer scrutiny from his crude mother or he could lie and risk his mother's fury.   
The last time he lied to her, which was when he was fifteen, his mother made him wear a dress for a week. And during homecoming. Nick decided that telling the truth was the best option because he did not want to see what his mother has planned for him after twelve years of peace.   
“Mom, do you remember that rabbit officer that was on the news?” He asked the older vixen.  
“Yep,” his mother answered enthusiastically. “The cute one you wanted to rut, right?” And there she goes. A new record of only one sentence to ruin a conversation.  
“This is why we can't have good talks, mom,” Nick said flatly. “And just talking about her for one day doesn’t mean I want to do anything like that with her.”  
“Well it's the first time you were ever interested in a girl,” she retorted with a smug grin.  
“Do you want to hear my problem or not?” Nick snapped. His mother put her hands up defensively.  
“Geez, someone's touchy today,” she grumbled. Nick felt less sad and more annoyed at this point. He held his hand up before she could even open her mouth again.  
“Look, I met her today and let's just say I'm not very happy with the reaction I got from her,” he explained. He deflated slightly as he continued. “I just thought that she, of all mammals, would understand how hard it is to climb that ladder as others tell you no.”  
“What did you expect?” His mother said as she pulled him up to a sitting position and turned him to face her. “We are foxes. And unless in some miraculous event that a fox does the public good, we will only be shifty criminals to them. I thought that if that's how they treat me, then that's who I will be. Then your father, may Karma bless him, taught me differently.”   
“‘We are not limited by what we are, but what we do’,” Nick sighed. “I know mom, but I just thought that I found someone who won't look fur deep.”  
“That's all we want,” his mother said softly. “But if you do want to bang a rabbit, I have nothing against you. Female rabbits have hella nice hips.” She gave him a toothy grin as he looked at her with a raised brow.  
“Just when I thought you were taking this conversation seriously,” Nick muttered with a light smirk on his muzzle.   
“I am being serious,” she said with a laugh. “I was all over the place. Your father was the only male I've ever been with, but I've had my fair share of succulent and curvy prey.”  
“Too much information again,” Nick chuckled with a small jab from his elbow.   
“If you're going to blame someone, blame my high school counselor. Way too sexy for her own good” she replied with a small shove. She was still wearing a smug grin as she pat his shoulder. “Now that you're not as depressed anymore, care to help with the store?”  
“I wasn't depressed,” Nick responded with mock offense. “I was just thinking.”  
“That's my boy,” she said. She stood from the bed and stretched out. Nick stood as well and heard several cracks along his back. His mother laughed at him and made a ton of terrible age puns as they went down the stairs. They may not be perfect, but family is family. And that was all right with Nick.  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Judy trudged into her apartment as her two neighbors argued loudly about some arbitrary thing she didn't care about. She tossed her vest onto the hook next to her door and looked at her room in disgust. She really was letting her life spiral down the drain. Her usually tidy room was a mess of three days of clothes and trash. She tried to muster up the drive to clean up but couldn't find it. She sighed and sat on her bed. She removed her vest and belt and dropped on the floor next to her bed. She flopped down and stared at the ceiling. She really debated calling her parents, but she didn't need someone else telling she wasn't good enough. She finally curled up on herself, feeling alone in a huge empty pit. Her dreams were replays of all her failures replaying before her eyes until it faded to emptiness.


	3. Starting the Catalyst

Chapter 3  
*meep!* *meep!* *meep!*  
Judy rolled on her bed to reach her alarm clock that was ringing annoyingly loud at the moment. She slapped her side table fruitlessly until she eventually fell off the bed. She groggily sat up and glared at the small box with red numbers that was on her desk. She stood up and slammed her fist down on the off button. She forgot that she moved it so that she had to get up to turn it off. She trudged to her full length mirror and looked at the rabbit that appeared before her. She was disheveled, her fur matted in some places and sticking up in others. A mess. She wasn't even completely out of uniform. She still had her leg guards and a single arm guard on. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and began her usual morning routine.   
At this point, it was almost like she was programmed to do everything. She felt numb. After a week of doing the same thing over and over again with no sense of joy in any part of her life, she had to make sure was still a living being. As she was putting on her uniform she noticed a photo of herself at her graduation ceremony. The bright smile brought her back some of her lost drive. She was not going to break. She tried to imitate the smile in her mirror, but it didn't reach her eyes. She sighed as she snatched her orange vest from the hook next to the door.   
She shuffled through the usual morning hustle as she got particularly rough shoves from animals she gave tickets to on the bus.  
“I am a real cop,” she muttered under her breath. The tired rabbit continued telling herself that as she continued to the front doors of Precinct 1. Judy gave Clawhauser a quick smile as she passed him at the front desk. Clawhauser was the only officer that has seen past the fact that she was a rabbit, but that isn't saying much since he was just a receptionist. She was still grateful for at least one friend in the Precinct. Judy got to the bullpen where all of the field officers were laughing and joking with each other. Judy walked past all of them without a single glance and scrambled onto her chair. After the first three days on the force, the rabbit gave up trying to make any conversation with the other officers. It wasn't as if any of them cared about her. She slumped silently into her chair as she waited for Chief Bogo to enter the room. The chatter around her began to bother the diminutive officer.   
Her ears flattened against her head as dangerous thoughts floated around her head. She just wanted quiet. She thought of very dark ways she could make it quiet forever, but she pushed those thoughts down to deal with never. Her ears perked back up again as soon as the cape buffalo walked in reading a clipboard.  
“Alright!” Chief Bogo barked. “Shut your cans! I'll be announcing today's assignments!” The Chief began assigning the officers their duties for the day. Judy ignored him the whole time because she already knew what her job was already. “Hopps! Parking duty!” Judy sighed as she heard those dreaded words. There wasn't anything she could do at this point. All of the other jobs are taken by the ‘real’ officers. And now she was considering herself as inferior. The words ‘token bunny’ echoed in her head and the image of a red fox with a smug half-grin appeared in front of her. She growled softly and muttered another one of Nick’s quotes. “Prove them wrong.”  
:::::::::::::::::::  
Officer McHorn watched the young bunny in concern as she trudged off and he stayed behind in the Bullpen. Chief Bogo gave him a questioning look as he walked up to the cape buffalo. The rhino gave the Chief a hard look before speaking. "We need to talk, sir."  
"About what McHorn?" The Chief asked impatiently. He looked down at his clipboard and flipped through some of the papers. "You're not happy about your assignment?"  
"No. It's about Officer Hopps," the surprise on his superior's face made him grimace. He was sure at least one other officer noticed the change in the rabbit's demeanor. McHorn got worried after his tablemate stopped asking for a fist bump in the morning. But, it was the the empty stares she been known to fall into that scared him. "Do you remember the Sahara Square Rampage? That rhino was one of my relatives."   
"What does a rhino have to do with a bunny, McHorn?" It irritated the rhino as the Chief flippantly disregarded his concern.  
"Well, the reason my relative went berserk wasn't because of the heat, it was emotional distress. He worked for that company for ten years and he never got promoted. And do you know why he didn't get promoted? Because they thought he was a meathead. They disregarded his intelligence and skill because he fit into the mold they wanted him for. Similar to Officer Hopps. That is all, sir." McHorn turned around to leave as he could see he wasn't getting through to the cape buffalo.  
"I'm not letting another officer die for a political agenda," Bogo said behind him. "I'm doing it to keep her safe."  
"That's the problem, sir," the rhino responded dryly. "You can measure physical pain easily. Mental and emotional? You can only measure them when it breaks." The rhino lumbered out the door as the cape buffalo looked down at his clipboard at the officer file he kept from the Kingdom Air Services. The bright eyed bunny seemed mocking to him as he sighed and continued on with his day.   
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Another two hours of deprecating parking duty has passed and Judy has almost killed 10 mammals. It seems that everyday that passes, the more irritating the complaints get. Judy could predict what mammals are going to tell her before they open their mouths. The pig is going to say he was in a meeting that ran late, the sheep was catching up with a friend, and etc. It was predictable. Her life has become predictable. She wanted a life that was more exciting, not this monotonous excuse for an existence. She heard another familiar ding and trudged her way down the street.   
She saw several mammals wearing similar outfits walk out of a bar and head to the car in front of the expired meter. She sighed as she realized she was going to be arguing with another gang. There was a timber wolf, a zebra, an elk, a badger, an armadillo, and a light gray fox. Their outfits, in one form or another, had a blade that was sprouting wings.   
“Who owns this car?” She asked the group. She expected a fight of some kind, hopefully to put her out of her misery. What she didn't expect was for all the mammals to simultaneously point at the elk comically as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. He stepped forward and scratched the back of his head.  
“Well technically I was coerced into signing my name under registration,” the elk said in a British accent. He shot the silver fox an annoyed glare and was treated with a smug half grin in return. Did all foxes have the ability to give smug grins naturally? “But it's a rental and-”  
“Just get the bloody ticket or we're going to be late,” The badger growled at him. The elk flinched away from her and held out his hand. Judy printed out the ticket and handed it the embarrassed elk.  
“Sorry for the inconvenience, ma’am,” the fox said with a bow and an apologetic smirk. “But we really must be going. May I get a name?” Judy narrowed her eyes at the silver fox and tapped her foot in annoyance. Most likely going to report her or something along those lines. The fox noticed her silence and stood back up. “If you're suspicious about something then please be reassured that I just don't know who you are. I know every officer in the ZPD and I don't remember you.” There was something behind his words that she couldn't put her finger on, but it wasn't malicious. It was almost, annoyed?  
Judy scrutinized him for several seconds before finally caving in. “I'm Judy Hopps, ZPD’s first rabbit officer,” she said with what small amount of pride she had left. The fox nodded appreciatively and held out his hand.  
“Well, pleasure to meet you, Officer Hopps,” he said as she shook his hand tentatively. “Name's Alex Savage. Unfortunately, we can't stay here and chat, but I hope we can meet again soon.” Judy nodded and left the group as they got into their cars. That encounter was the most pleasant she would most likely ever get. She sighed as she heard a pig yelling and ranting down the street she already passed. Just one more hour before her break and she'll head to Wilde Style to check it out.  
::::::::::::;::::::::::::  
The light gray fox got into the backseat of the elk’s car with the badger. The other three operatives got into the car in front of them and the two cars began moving in different directions. Just in case someone was hunting them then at least half the team would get to the ZPD.  
“Still can't believe I got a ticket on the first day,” the elk sighed.  
“Can it, Woods. I told you another quarter wouldn't hurt,” the fox barked. His smile was gone and replaced with an annoyed grimace. He turned to the badger looking through officer profiles on a laptop. “Honey, is there a Judy Hopps in the files Chief Whines-a-lot sent us?”   
“Negatory, sir,” she answered in a crisp tone. “But I can get it.”  
“Good, get on it,” the fox was thoroughly pissed off at the buffalo. All the files his poofy ass! Why the hell would he want to keep Judy's files away from them?  
“Got it,” the badger gave the laptop to her commander to look over. The silver fox just got more confused as he read on. Valedictorian? Broke most of the records in the academy? Recommended for ZBI? Why wasn't she already on the missing mammals case? 17 mammals are missing and Chief Dumbass is sitting on a golden officer.  
“Guys, we got our cooperation partner!" the fox said with a smile. This will ruffle Bogo's jammies. Now he just needs to convince an old trainee to join them. Hopefully he isn't too busy with his clothing store.  
:::::::::::::::::::;;::;::::  
Nick sewed the last finishing touches on a very elegant wedding gown before putting it into a garment bag and giving it to the coyote across the counter. “There you go, miss. I hope that you two have a happy marriage.” The coyote gave him a warm smile and went deeper into the men’s formal section to find her fiancé. Nick was very satisfied with how his father's store turned out. He watched as all predators of all sizes milled around the store in different areas. A group of young predators were milling around the casual wear section they added a few years ago while they happily joked around, a far cry to the troubled youths he grew up with. Because of the success of their store, they were able to stimulate the economy of Happytown, pushing it out of poverty. The amount of jobs they held from their factory to their store was comprised of almost only Happytown residents and a few brave prey animals. Nick chuckled to himsels.before he continued his current sketch after making sure no other customer needed his help. He started with the shirt, which had a very conservative design. He worked around the conservative concept. The sketch soon became a rabbit and before long, Judy Hopps was modeling his newest creation. “Damn you, mother,” he growled under his breath. He also took notice how he accented the area around the hips. “Double damn you.” He flipped to the next page and looked around for inspiration and saw the rabbit he just drew standing outside the door. And now Nick was seeing things. He felt mildly surprised when his apparition opened the front door. It took Nick a second to realize that the officer was real and had the sudden reaction to toss the sketchbook under the counter.  
“Hello, Officer Hopps,” Nick said behind a fake smile. “I thought I told you not to waste our time.” The officer ignored him for a minute as she looked around the store. Her violet eyes eventually made their way to his green eyes and stared at him neutrally.  
“Nice place,” she said. “Kind of hard to believe it's owned by foxes.” Nick narrowed his eyes at her as she gave him an easy grin.   
“If you're trying to provoke me, it's not going to work,” the red fox said dryly. “Now, what do you want?”  
“Just checking the place out,” the officer said as her eyes wandered around the store. “It has a real cozy feeling to it, you know?” Of course Nick knew. His father’s original ideas were put in to make the store more inviting. Warm colors that make mammals feel at home. No fluorescent lights for sensitive eyes and different sized changing rooms. Everything that will make a mammal feel more comfortable in their own skin. But he hated how the rabbit said it in a mocking tone. He gripped the edge of the table and stopped himself from snarling. That rabbit could say anything she wanted, but as soon as she starts mocking his father's dream… Well, it won't be pretty. His leer was slowly evolving into more of a glare and the rabbit just stood there with a satisfied smirk on her face. They stared at each other for a while and Nick was vaguely aware of one of his employees approaching him and slowly backing away after seeing the tension.  
“I think-”   
“Hello there, miss!” Nick was cut off by his mother as she came out of the back room. She greeted Officer Hopps with a ‘hustler’ smile. “What exactly are you here for?”   
“Well, I was hoping to buy a shirt,” the rabbit said, changing her personality to a more polite one. “My friend said this place has great clothes at a reasonable price.”  
“We don't carry rabbit-”   
“We'll get right on it!” His mother interrupted again with a sharp jab in the ribs. “Give us a few days and we'll have a few shirts I think you will love!”  
“Well, thank you,” the officer said with a genuine smile. She walked off and Nick noticed that she swayed her hips slightly as she walked. Nick was disturbed that he noticed this detail and had a horrific thought that he was becoming more like his mother.   
“Nick, we need to talk,” his mother said in a hushed tone. She waved the employee who walked away over and instructed him to take over until Sam got back from buying supplies. She then led Nick to the back room and placed both her hands on his shoulders.   
“Nicholas,” she said with a serious tone. “If you don't tap that, I will. And when I'm done with her, not even a ruler can make her straight again.” Nick gave the older vixen a blank stare as she said this. He definitely was expecting this one.   
“Mom,” the todd began. “She was trying to provoke me.”  
“I heard flirting,” she chirped back.  
“When a female slaps you that's also considered ‘flirting,’” Nick said flatly.  
“Keep in mind that I did sleep with every female that slapped me,” she said. “And what's not to like about that rabbit? She has drive, attitude, and hips that are truly divine!” It didn't take long for the vixen to space out and start daydreaming about the Judy’s ‘divine’ hips. Nick felt a strong vibration in shirt pocket and pulled out his phone. Thankful for the distraction, Nick detached his mother's arms away from him and answered the call.  
“Hello, this is Nick Wilde of Wilde Style,” Nick answered cheerfully.  
“Hello, Knicker boxers,” a cheerful voice said from the other line. Nick's mood immediately worsened after hearing that voice. Great, first officer stuck up, and now this asshole.  
“What do you want, Alex?” He growled into the phone. This annoying silver fox may have trained him, but that doesn't make him any less annoying. “I'm not in the mood for any jokes.”  
“So straight to the point then?” Alex said nervously. “Well I got some good news and some bad news. Good news, you might have a chance to get into the ZPD. Bad news, do you happen to know a florist named Mr. Otterton?”


	4. Preparing for the Worst, Hoping for the Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I'm tossing out full parts of the story. Whoooooo! Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu-! So now the first part will be along the plot of the movie, with a lot of differences. This will be used to set up characters and relationships before I touch the original plot.

Alex Savage sat across from Precinct 1’s chief of police inside what they call ‘the Bullpen.’ The cape buffalo glared at him as the silver fox spun a pencil in his hand while tapping his chin with the other. “Well, do you have a problem with the terms, Bogo?” Alex’s amber eyes focused entirely on the buffalo’s face. The buffalo gave a frustrated snort and took a deep breath to calm himself.   
“Are you telling me that you want a rookie officer and a fox that has been rejected 9 times-”   
“Ten,” Alex interrupted.  
“- by the ZPD to be part of your main investigation group when you have the city's finest at your disposal?” The buffalo finished with a growl. The silver fox was amused by the buffalo’s question and chuckled lightly.  
“Pretty much.” The buffalo’s eye twitched and Alex swore he could hear a vein pop. The chief of police was at the end of his rope with the commanding officer of the Kingdom Animal Service. The fox stopped his spinning and placed the pencil delicately on the table. “Does it bother you?” The fox’s voice was taunting and an amused smile crept on his face.  
“Very much so,” the Chief growled. “And personally, I think you are an idiot. I asked for the best and all I got was a clown with a team of misfits that has no coordination. You are not fit to lead any investigation if you think that an officer that has barely started her career to take charge in a huge case. If you're trying to better the reputation of foxes than become a more productive member of society, not a special forces operative.” Alex lost count of the amount of times mammals have told him that. It was a game for Alex to see how many repeats he could hear, but it got tedious after particular lines reached past 156. It didn't seem all that fair to Chief Bogo to mess around with him this much. Alex would also be fairly mad if he was a buffalo with barbed wire stuck in his ass and someone like Alex showed up as the cavalry.   
“Well, I think you should replace Chef Ramsey from Kitchen Nightmares. Destiny has strange plans for us, don't you think?,” the silver fox shrugged.   
“I think you're more of a result of Karma, but I'm not sure what horrible thing I did to ever meet you,” the buffalo responded dryly.  
“Probably it was hiding Officer Hopps files from me,” the cape buffalo's eyes widened in surprise at this comment and he backed down a little. “Then maybe I wouldn't have looked so hard.”  
“That is a violation of trust!” Bogo growled.  
“Retaining information from a joint task force is treason and an international felony,” Alex chuckled. “And you retained information from me, which means I can ruin your career with one report.” The buffalo forced himself to relax as the fox leaned back into his chair with a victorious smile. “It's called a hustle, Bogo.”  
“Very well,” Bogo grumbled. “I'll honor your decision if you don't put that in your report.”  
“Excellent,” Alex purred. “Now I just need to find Officer Hopps again!”  
"Wait," Bogo said. The hard look was gone from his eyes as he began shuffling away the papers on the desk. "Can you promise she will get out in one piece? That's all I want from you." Alex scoffed and looked up at the Chief of Police, his eyes hiding a guilt that has been haunting the cape buffalo.  
"If you borrow something, you don't return it broken," Alex said as he stood up. "But I have faith in her and in Nick. I did train him myself."  
::::::::::::::::::::  
Judy stomped back into the precinct with a menacing scowl on her face. Clawhauser was about to greet her until he saw the pure anger in her eyes. She was so close to killing that damn warthog. So very close. But she settled on the fairly hefty fine he would have to pay for tossing a cup of hot coffee onto her uniform. Him also getting arrested by Wolford and Fangmeyer for other charges of assault was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. But now her fur and uniform was sticky and she swore that her vest was going to smell like coffee for weeks. This was the cause of her foul mood. Even so, the day went much better than expected.  
Wilde Style was a surprisingly good store that far exceeded her expectations. She may have gone overboard poking fun at Nick, but it was definitely unintentional. Her mind shot back to when Gideon baked her a pie to apologize for his actions as a kid and she promptly tossed it away over her shoulder in front of him. Looking back at it, even though the weighty fox said it was justified, doing it didn't really amount to anything good. Her whole life has been spent looking down upon and fearing foxes. It showed today when she made her second impression that of an anti-predator idiot.   
She had to admit though, Nick was able to hold in his anger much more effectively than she could. If someone made fun of her farm, they'd have a hard time finding the body. When Wolford and Fangmeyer showed up to arrest the dumb warthog, they relieved her and told her to get cleaned up. Now she was going to the gym showers to do just that. At least that was her plan until a familiar light gray fox blocked her path.   
“Hello, Officer Hopps,” the fox said with his hands on his hips. “I thought that I was going to wait much longer for you to return.”  
“What do you want, sir?” Judy asked politely. The coffee was really sticking in her fur, but this fox was the only mammal to show her any courtesy and a couple of minutes won't change much.  
“Just a few questions,” he said. “First, how is your current occupation as a meter maid? Please answer truthfully.” Judy stared at the fox as she tried to formulate an answer. She guessed that telling the truth would be her best option.   
“Makes me question my choices in becoming a police officer,” she said with a hint of anger.  
“I see,” the fox said. “And do you think you should get a better position?”  
“I'm not going to answer that.”  
“Well, you're being transferred to my unit, regardless” The fox purred. Judy stared once again as he smiled at her. She was confused. There were no foxes in the ZPD or SWAT, so what special unit was this fox from?  
“What unit?” Judy asked.  
“A special unit assigned to the missing mammals case, of course,” the fox said jovially. Judy froze. That was one the biggest cases that the ZPD has ever taken and she was being recruited for it? It was very hard to believe.  
“H-how about other veteran officers? Wouldn't they be much better suited for the job?” Judy stammered. The fox gave her an amused smile and ruffled the fur on her head.  
“Can you tell me which of those veteran officers broke more than twelve academy records?” The fox purred. Judy couldn't think of any officers with a resumè like that. He patted her head and went on his way. “Meeting room 202 tomorrow. And don't smell like coffee, Honey might try to drink you.” The fox went down the hall with his hand in his pockets as Judy stood dumbfounded at her sudden promotion. She still needed to find out what exact unit the fox was in, but it felt good. A smile slowly crept on her face as she continued to the showers. It seems Serendipity was finally giving her the good accident she needed  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Nick walked back into his room after his shower and pulled out his old sports bag from his closet. He zipped it open to find the black shirt that Alex gave him. It seemed unassuming at first until you noticed the bulge of the chest plate on the front. His friend reassured him that the shirt and matching pants would absorb shock and the plated areas could take a .22 caliber several times before cracking. He slipped on the KAS gear and rifled through the rest of the bag. Tactical flashlight? He's taking that. Taser? That's staying home. Tactical vest? Too conspicuous. Multi tool? Pocketing that. The fox stared at the pistol his Alex forced him to get a license for. He was good at reflex shots, which the gray fox often praised him for. Nick shook his head and packed it away with the rest of the gear. He wasn't a murderer. He looked at himself in the mirror and realized he was looking kind of saucy in his tight outfit. He found some brown slacks that were loose enough to be worn comfortably with the padded pants and began looking for a shirt. He grumbled as he realized that most of his shirts would be uncomfortable and settled for a green pawaiian button-up he never remembered obtaining. He finished buttoning up his shirt when his eyes settled on a navy blue tie. He instinctively grabbed it and put it on. He didn't know why, but it felt right. He opened his door to find his brother waiting with his arms crossed waiting on the other side.  
"Sweet Karma, Sam!" Nick exclaimed as he almost walked head first into his littermate. "I almost flattened my snout on you!" Nick's easy smile slid off his face as he noticed his brother's stony expression.  
"Mom said you talked to Alex," the other red fox's deep blue eyes trailed up and down Nick's body. "So, are you going to leave us for another four years, Nicky?" The other fox flinched at the reminder of him abandoning his brother.   
"Sam, it's just a missing mammal case, okay?" His brother's blue eyes flashed angrily for a quick second before becoming a wall of depthless ocean.   
"Do you know what it was like dealing with Mom after you left? So soon after losing Dad?" Nick stayed silent. He didn't have a retort. Only guilt filled his chest as his brother tightened his grip on his own arm and his eyes became watery. "She lashed out at me and Holly almost everyday. The vixen of my dreams almost broke up with me numerous times because of how harsh Mom was being. She turned to alcohol for a year before she decided her favorite pastime was picking up random females at the bar and bringing them home. I'm grateful that you kept sending us money, but I needed more than that. No letters. No visits. Nothing. I almost cried when you showed up to my wedding. No contact for years and then you just suddenly pop back into our lives." The memory of shyly showing himself to his old friends and family and being immediately dog piled by them was a memory Nick always ran through his head, knowing how easily it should've gone bad.  
"Sammy, please. I didn't mean to leave you like that," Nick sighed and looked away from his brother. "I won't leave again. Everything will be fine now."   
"Not if you die out there." The flatness of the delivery surprised Nick as his eyes widened. "Mom is barely holding herself together. She might seem alright during the day, but I hear her arguing with herself every night. It makes me scared, Nick. If you die, she might shatter into something no one can fix." The two brothers stood in front of each other for several seconds before Sam pulled Nick into a hug. Nick chuckled and returned the hug.  
"I won't die. Not yet. I have my nieces and nephews to look forward to!" Sam pulled away and wiped his tears with a smile.   
"How did you find out?" He asked as Nick's face wrinkled in disgust as he remembered Holly puking all over him a couple days ago.  
"Lucky guess?" The two brothers shared a chuckle as Sam put two and two together and realized the reason for his brother's extra long shower that day.   
"Just make sure you tell Mom before you leave, and be careful." Sam gave Nick a quick salute before he went back to his room to wake up his wife. Nick knew that he would do everything possible to get back home. Especially since it was not just his life at risk. He walked downstairs to the main store front where his mother and Finnick were getting ready for the day. Finnick grunted as he screwed in some bolts into a display rack and waved at him and his mother turned and was about to do the same when she noticed his attire. Her smile became a look of concern as she strode up to him. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as Nick shrunk back.  
"Nick, what are you wearing?" The question seemed innocent, but the look in the older vixen's eyes said differently.  
"Some clothes I found comfortable," he answered truthfully. He didn't expect his mother's gaze to harden as she pressed him more.  
"For you, or for whomever you're hustling?" The look of pure confusion on Nick's face seemed to placate his mother as she placed both her hands in her hips. "Nick, you do know those are hustling clothes, right?"  
"No, this was the only shirt that could cover my body armor," the younger fox responded as he partially unbuttoned his shirt to show the black padded clothes beneath.   
"And why do you need body armor?"  
"Oh…Going out with a friend. A friend who happens to work with the KAS." Nick's Mom didn't even flinch as she socked him right on his shoulder. "OW!"  
"Don't take any unnecessary risks. I'll personally kill anyone responsible for your death, directly or indirectly," there was a coldness in her voice that sent a shiver down Nick's spine as she turned back to Finnick. "I'll bring you back to life to kill you again if you do something stupid."  
"I already had this conversation with Sam," Nick grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.   
"Then just come home alive," she said with a clipped tone. "If you don't leave right now, I will tie you up and keep you in the back room until I can find you a mate so you can be her problem." Nick rushed out at the comment, only turning back to give her a hug. The older vixen slumped as soon as her son left and leaned against the counter.   
"You 'kay Christa?" Finnick asked as he finished repairing the display rack. The vixen gave her old friend a sad look.   
"I'm not a good mother," she said firmly. "John raised those boys when I could barely keep myself sane. If Nick gets hurt, everyone will be getting hurt as well. If I go back to who I was, just make sure Samuel and his family continues the business. And cut ties with me completely. " The fennec sighed and tossed her a granola bar. She caught it without even looking at it.   
"Don't worry about it. He might be like John, but he definitely takes after you. That Alex guy took time out of his day to train him for the ZPD, so he must've gotten something from you."  
"That's what I'm afraid of," Christa growled as she took a bite out of her granola bar.


	5. Plan for Code 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a completely new chapter without a previous chapter I added to, so it took a bit longer. I sort of have Nomura syndrome in which I have story points I want to get to, but have a problem getting to them. There are a lot of hints of what makes might've caused the huge change of mammals, but I'll get more in to the past when it is more relevant. Also I dropped $70 bucks on a Revoltech Judy Hopps preorder, so f*** me.

Chapter 5  
Meeting room 202 was a medium sized room with an oval table with eight swivel chairs around it. Judy was sitting across from Alex, who was currently scrolling on his phone. They were waiting with a badger, an armadillo, and an Arctic vixen who had an eye patch over her left eye. Judy knew exactly who the vixen was, due to the fact she was a guest trainer at the academy. She was the current ZBI director, Skye Summers. Judy's legs felt the sting of her cane before as she was the harshest mammal she had ever met. She pushed the rabbit's class so hard, several of them dropped out to try another time. The vixen's cold gaze was currently focused on the gray fox sitting across from Judy. Her target noticed her and his warm amber eyes met her cold blue. Judy scooted away as he waved at Director Summers with his tongue poking out of his mouth, causing the vixen's eye to twitch in anger. Judy looked to the other two occupants for assistance and found the armadillo rolling around in a ball and the badger clicking away at her computer. The door opened before the situation could escalate and four mammals walked in. There was the elk Judy gave the ticket to, the wolf and zebra who kept purposely bumping into each other, and Nick Wilde. Judy stared stupidly as the fox put down the bag slung over his shoulder with the larger ones the other mammals brought. He didn't seem to notice her as he hopped into the chair at the edge of the table.   
"Really, Alex?" Nick asked incredulously as he looked between the fox and vixen. "Do you even know who that is? She can crack you like an egg." The gray fox shrugged and put down his phone.  
"I know that our case is being transferred from her team to ours, other than that? Don't care. What I do care about is that eyesore you are wearing. Who the hell wears a pawaiian shirt with a tie?" Judy took a second to look at the red fox and saw that he was wearing a green pawaiian shirt with a navy blue tie that the rabbit found very fitting for some reason. Nick rolled his eyes and pulled up a sleeve to expose a thicker black shirt underneath.   
"Only shirt baggy enough to hide this thing," Nick responded as he tugged on it. Judy noticed that it was similar to CQC specialists underclothes. They regulate temperature and provide moderate protection from impact based hits. A very high class piece of gear for a civilian or even a officer.   
"Hey, Nick," the zebra tapped the top of Nick's chair as she stood by the wolf. She gestured to herself and her companion, to which the fox responded by hopping off his chair and moving two chairs down. The chair right beside Judy. She turned her chair so that the back of the chair was facing him as he approached. She heard the creak of the chair as he jumped into it and he heard his voice directed across the table.  
"Any idea who this guy is? Or is it one of Skye's men?" Judy had a sinking suspicion that he was talking about her. She prayed to Serendipity to have the aloof leader of their group answer similarly to Nick's question about the Director.   
"Ha! That there is Officer Judy Hopps," the rabbit felt her prayer crash into a fiery ball. "She's almost as good as you, Nicky! I mean, except they don't have any firearms training in the base curriculum, so can't measure that. Say hi to my little pet project Judy!" The rabbit officer slowly turned her chair to the smug looking fox.  
"Don't worry, Alex," Nick's voice was neutral as he stared down Judy. "Officer Hopps tried to arrest me just a couple days ago, so we're well acquainted."  
"Pfft, what was she trying to arrest you for, over following the law?"   
"Drug dealing." The gray fox looked from both mammals with quick head movements before landing on her. He snickered and turned to Director Summers with a smirk.  
"Can you believe her?" He scoffed.   
"Yes," the Arctic vixen growled as she tightened her grip on her cane and glared at him. "You todds seem to be no strangers at irritating females." Alex looked away from her and chuckled sheepishly.   
"Is everyone settled in?" The badger asked. She finally looked up from her computer and scanned her beady eyes across the room. All mammals were seated and she continued without waiting for an answer. "For anyone new here, I am Honey. I run intelligence and technical. Our idiot Captain is Alex Savage. Our field operatives are Frank Woods, Shelon Moar, Sheila Alomar, And Darren Dire." The badger gestured to the elk, then to the armadillo, and finally the zebra and wolf.   
"That leads us to this case," Director Summers continued as she turned on the projector to reveal a picture of an aging wolf. "This is Jacob Dire, the Kingdom ambassador to Zootopia. He is Darren's uncle and is quite well loved in both city-states. He was one of the first mammals that went missing in the missing mammals case."  
"And both the ZPD and ZBI are stumped. So, Darren's father sent us to look for his brother," Alex finished. The gray fox fox still held his smirk, but his eyes were focused and his voice more formal and to the point. Summers simply nodded and moved on to the next picture. It was Jacob Dire talking with a group of mammals that included Mayor Leodore Lionheart.  
"This is the last recorded sighting of Jacob Dire. All mammals seen from the footage were questioned and investigated, which led nowhere," Honey pointed at their target directly as she continued. "But, it is known that Mr. Dire loved taking walks at night. Several mammals even confirmed his location near the Rainforest district the night he went missing. The problem is even with all of Zootopia's best and brightest, they came up with nothing."  
"So Sir Dire sent the best team under his command to track them down," Director Summers said bitterly as she limped around the table. "Even if their specialty is high priority target elimination. Since the information we gathered is still important to the investigation, your Captain will come to my office personally and pick it up. He will then return here to distribute it to the rest of you."  
"Hopefully by the end of today. We all know how slow ZBI paperwork is," Alex chuckled right before Director Summers slapped him upside the head.   
"Dismissed!" Skye shouted. The mammals all got up from their chairs and began heading out. The KAS members began making fun of their Captain as he rubbed the back of his head and picked up their bags. Judy was about to get out of her chair when a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. Judy snapped her head to the Arctic vixen as she lowered her muzzle next to her ear.   
"I don't know if Captain Savage chose you as a joke or if he saw something in you, but know this. Don't. Mess. Up. The honor and respect of both the ZBI and ZPD are on your shoulders now. You don't have to do anything extraordinary, just don't embarrass us," she whispered. She stood up and gave her a brisk nod. She walked towards the door and whacked Alex's backside with her cane, causing him to jump up with a yip. She scolded him a little bit before both foxes walked out the door. She saw Nick conversing comfortably with the other mammals and felt a pang of jealousy run through her. If he were wearing a uniform instead of her, it would look natural. He engaged in the same antics as other officers in Precinct 1 with the special forces operatives. She hopped off her chair and walked past the group and headed for the lobby.   
"Hey Clawhauser," Judy greeted the portly cheetah half-heartedly as he was currently dispatching units. He gave her a quick wave before going back to directing officers. She sighed and walked outside. The diminutive rabbit walked to a quiet, discreet corner near the front of the ZPD and pulled out a small cardboard package. She opened it and looked down at the four cylinders in the box. She gingerly pulled one of the cigarettes out and put it in her mouth. One of her older sisters told her that smoking helps relieve stress, which Judy found skeptical. Until she was reprimanded for arresting Duke Weaselton. She tried smoking that same day and almost coughed her lungs out. A quick flick of her thumb and her lighter flickered to life. The flame took a second to burn the end of the cigarette and she flicked the lighter closed and tucked it away. She took a deep inhale and released it. While it still felt uncomfortable, she didn't feel like dying. She went for another drag when a voice surprised her from behind.   
"You know that's a bad habit, right?" Judy turned and saw Nick's mother behind her with a lollipop stick in her mouth. Now that Judy can see her full body, the similarities between the mother and son were almost identical. The only big difference was her white tipped tail compared to Nick's black tipped tail. The vixen strode up to the rabbit and plucked the cigarette from her hand. "Yellow teeth. Addiction. Lung cancer. All for a little stress relief." The cigarette was crumpled in the vixen's hand and flicked away in disdain.   
"M-Mrs. Wilde? I was just taking a break before we head-," Judy tried to explain herself and was interrupted by a loud crack as Nick's mother bit down hard on the lollipop in her mouth. She spat out the stick and glared down at the smaller mammal.  
"You call me Christa. A mammal like you has no right to utter my husband's last name in front of me," the vixen barked. Christa's entire demeanor changed and Judy felt her body trying to run from the intimidating female. "I don't care if a fox murdered five of your cousins. If you do anything to my son because he is a fox, I'll mail you piece by piece back home to Bunnyburrows."  
"Y-you are threatening a police officer, C-Christa," the words felt empty even as they came out of her mouth. She didn't dare follow protocol and use her last name again, lest the larger mammal makes good on her threat.   
"I don't even know why Nicky wants to become an officer. You're all just a bunch of judgemental assholes with too much power," Christa spat as she folded her arms. "The whole law system always sides with prey animals. Even if they are guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt."  
"We uphold the law! We do our duty for the city!" The vixen's slow cackle at her response caused the rabbit's heart to quicken and her nose twitched in fear. The predator crouched down so that she was eye level with the officer.  
"Such an easy excuse for doing horrible things. 'Doing your duty?' That's so adorable. Cute, even. Very cute." Judy flinched at the derogatory term thrown in her face. The vixen's green eyes danced with cold amusement and her pupils narrowed into black slits. "Oh, does that offend you? Good. It's mammals like you that makes mammals like me. If a simple word gets you riled up, then that badge means nothing to me. Your kind has done worse." The larger mammal straightened up and ran a hand over the top of her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When Christa opened her eyes again, her face changed into an easy smile with her eyes lighting up mischievously, erasing the monster she had a small glimpse of completely.  
"I'll remind you of something, rabbit. Your parents most likely have over one hundred children. I have two left. They are all I have to lose. Keep that in mind. Now let's head inside before anyone misses you."  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Nick and Shelon were just talking casually about what they've been up to since the last time they saw each other. The six mammals from meeting room 202 were waiting in the lobby for Alex to return. Nick wondered where Officer Hopps wandered off to as Shelon began telling him about the time Frank was almost sacrificed by a cannibal elk tribe in a remote area. Nick caught a movement of orange in the corner of his vision and turned his head to meet the green eyes of his mother. She just walked in with Officer Hopps, who looked a little worse for wear. The older vixen quickly walked up to her son and Nick tried to find a quick exit before he was pulled into a strong hug. The armadillo that was talking to him laughed behind them before shutting up abruptly. Nick could only guess the glare he received from over his shoulder from the vixen. His mom pulled away and gave him a small, sad smile.  
"Before you call me clingy, I am," she purred. She reached into the front pocket of her overalls and pulled out a folded plastic case. "If you ever find yourself in trouble with the wrong side of the law, show them this. Don't open this here. Don't open it near any law enforcement. Also I brought some blueberry lollipops. Your favorite." Nick's ears warmed up as she pulled out a small bag of dark blue lollipops from the candy shop down the street from Wilde Style.   
"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore," Nick huffed before taking the bag. "But thank you anyway." He knew that ever since his father died that his mother seems to baby her twenty-seven year old sons a bit too much, but he couldn't blame her. She was apparently completely emotionally dependent on their father until his death. She then latched onto Sam and Nick. He hopes that she will mellow out once Sam and Holly's children are born.   
"I think I'll be-" Nick was interrupted by an otter following around the police chief as she was begging for him to find her husband. It took the fox a couple of seconds to realize that it was Mrs. Otterton and he immediately felt a pang of guilt. Nick was on record the last mammal to see him, but he had no real information for Alex when he called. "Give me a second." Nick left his mother and began walking to the otter when Officer Hopps intercepted the two mammals.   
"Don't worry, miss. We will find your husband, even if I have to do it by myself," Officer Hopps said as she held the otter's hands between her own.  
"Thank you so much!" Mrs. Otterton exclaimed as she gave the rabbit a hug. "His name is Emmit Otterton. You have to find him! Emmit would never just leave. Something must have happened to him!"  
"Please calm yourself Mrs. Otterton," the Chief sighed. "We are doing all we can. Unfortunately, Officer Hopps will be preoccupied with her current assignment and all other officers have their own cases to worry about. We will get to him as soon as we can."  
"If nobody else is taking it, we'll happily take the case from your hands," Nick felt a spark of satisfaction as the buffalo gave a little jump as he spoke. The buffalo turned and squinted at the small fox with suspicion.  
"And who exactly are you?" The bull huffed. Shelon walked up to them and patted Nick on the back.  
"Excuse me, Chief Bogo," the armadillo said with mock offense. "This is Captain Savage's personally trained recruit. Hard trained in KAS tactical procedures!" Chief Bogo groaned at that and put a hand to his face.   
"Still. This is a ZPD issue and it will be solved by ZPD officers," he grumbled to the small group of mammals.  
"Well, Idris," the entire group turned to the voice and saw Nick's mother with a half-lidded smile. "Carrots here is a ZPD officer. If she was to take the case, it would still be under your jurisdiction. Unless, of course, the whole 'Mammal Inclusion Initiative' thing was just a political scam. Meaning Fluff is just for show and the press can sprint with a story like that!"   
"Sweet mother of-! Ms. Reynard," the cape buffalo looked like he was about to blow the horns right off his head. "I thought my terms of not having to arrest you for tax evasion was that you never set foot in Precinct 1 again."   
"It's actually been Mrs. Wilde for the last thirty years, Buffalo Butt," the vixen crossed her arms and motioned her muzzle towards Nick. "And I am here for my progeny. Can't you see the resemblance?" The large mammal looked between the two foxes and saw the almost identical appearances.  
"How did you convince John to marry you?" Chief Bogo muttered under his breath. He shook his head and turned to Officer Hopps. "I'll give you forty-eight hours to find Mr. Otterton. I'm only doing this so I don't have to deal with either of my least favorite mammals in the world." Officer Hopps looked ecstatic for once and she immediately shot a quick salute.  
"Thank you, sir-" She started before Chief Bogo interrupted her.  
"But, if you fail... You are going on parking duty for the foreseeable future, got it?" The rabbit mulled it over for a second before nodding. "Good. Now since the only non-KAS member of your group is Mr. Wilde, he will be your official partner. You can figure out what to do with the rest of your team now or later. Either way, your timer starts now." The cape buffalo lumbered away rubbing his temple as another officer came to lead Mrs. Otterton away. The rest of Alex's team walked up to Shelon and looked at him questioningly.  
"Do you think the Captain will be okay with this?" Sheila asked. The armadillo rolled his eyes and gave the entire team a tired look.  
"I've been around you psychos for seven years. I'm pretty sure I can predict all of your decisions at this point," he turned to Judy and gave her a thumbs up. "You and Slick better get going. Maybe if you find Otterton, it'll blow this case wide open and I get to use the next two months as vacation time."  
"How about Alex?" Nick asked with concern. Alex might not be by the books, but he is quite laser focused when it comes to his missions. He wasn't part of KAS's best for his jokes.  
"Don't worry! He'll understand. I'll tell him as soon as he gets back." The armadillo began walking away to one of the waiting areas. Honey looked over Nick and Officer Hopps before gesturing to the rest of the mammals to follow the shelled mammal. "Whenever that will be."  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Alex flicked the metronome on Director Summers' desk. She left him there for about ten minutes, which meant he got restless. But he was not brave enough to move anything else in case the vixen lashed out at him. The door opened as she limped into her office with a folder in her hand. A sky blue eye glared at him as she set it down on the desk next to him.  
"Well that was pretty fast!" The vixen didn't respond as she limped back to the door and locked it. "Um… Skye?"   
"I am on record to be in a two hour briefing with Captain Alex Savage. Your team doesn't expect you for several hours," Skye said in a clipped tone. "You leave me high and dry for two months and decide to be cute. It took all my willpower not to jump you in front of everyone." The vixen then pouted cutely as he chuckled and gently began to nuzzle the white mammal. She purred in response as she began to pull on his shirt.   
"Sorry, love," Alex unbuttoned her suit jacket and pulled it off her. "Jack was up my tail ever since the first mammal went missing in Kingdom. I tried getting back as soon as possible." He got a huff in return before the vixen pulled his shirt off.   
"The only thing that matters to me right now is that we have an hour and a half for some stress relief. Believe me, the last two weeks have been very stressful." The light gray fox said nothing as he began unbuttoning her white dress shirt with a knowing smile. Skye sighed sadly and began to run a hand through his chest fur. "I want kits."  
"I do too." He cooed. They both knew that they would have to give up their jobs in order to do it, which they were more than happy to do. But both mammals had their reasons for staying, but both silently agreed to retire after this case. The Arctic vixen led her mate to the large chair behind her desk and shoved him roughly into it. Her blue eye was playful as she jumped on top of him and he pulled her dress shirt off. He was sure that nothing important will happen in the next couple of hours.


	6. A Case of Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're reaching the longer wait times between chapters. I find that transitioning scenes is what gets my stuck, but what else can you do? Random tip: Heavenly Blue is one of the best anime openings, but the anime sucks. Just listen to the song

Chapter 6  
Chief Bogo lowered himself into his chair and opened the file on his desk. It was not an official case file, but it was important to him. He looked at the photo on top of the pile and felt guilt eat away at him. There was himself as a new recruit straight out of academy, two foxes, and a llama also wearing a ZPD uniform. The llama had both foxes caught in a large hug, the blue eyed todd looking uncomfortable as the green eyed vixen licked the side of his face. Bogo stared at his face that was caught in mid-chuckle as the picture was taken. He let his gaze linger on the llama, her face reflecting pure happiness and kindness as she mammal-handled the two predators. He flipped through the photos of the four mammals in different areas of Zootopia until he couldn't take the pressure building in his chest. He closed the file and looked outside his window. He watched Officer Hopps present the meter maid cart to Nick Wilde, who began waving his arms wildly as he seemed to be arguing with her. The rabbit socked him in the shoulder and Christa shoved him into the glorified golf cart with a laugh he could hear from his office. Judy Hopps reminded the cape buffalo so much of his first partner that he was constantly worried about her even as a meter maid. He watched the cart putter away and prayed to any god listening to protect her.  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
"I'm using Carrots now, Carrots," Nick grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder. Judy shot a glance at him and saw him watching the streets past with his back purposely facing her. After meeting Christa, Nick was a completely different problem to tackle. He seemed to analyze everything about a mammal before engaging them in conversation. She didn't like how he seemed to judge all her movements with scrutiny. It made her feel like she was always doing something wrong and had her always second guessing herself.   
"Don't think about it, Slick," Judy's response only got an amused huff from the fox as he continued looking away from her. There was a cold silence as she drove to the Otterton flower shop. Her passenger gave her a flat look and an annoyed sigh.  
"And why are we here, Carrots?" She flinched at the judgmental tone in his voice. She shuffled uncomfortably as she looked at the store. "Details of the case say that he never made it home. Mrs. Otterton already questioned any nearby mammals, and Alex called all mammals seen in contact with Mr. Otterton. So what can we gain by being here?"   
"Um, I'm not sure?" Judy felt worse and she felt her ears droop behind her head. Nick's hard, questioning stare faltered and he looked away. He gave an exasperated sigh before giving her an awkward shrug.   
"Look," the fox started with a long pause as he mulled over his words. "I might have a lead for Mr. Otterton. I was hoping to bring Alex, but I guess you're good enough." Her ears perked up a bit and a soft smile was barely visible on his muzzle.  
"Okay, Mr. Wilde. Let's go."  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Judy stopped the cart in front of a nice stone building with the words Mystic Springs Oasis painted on a wooden sign over the door. Nick took several deep breaths before getting out and waiting in front of the door. He looked back at her expectantly until she unclipped her seatbelt and followed after him. He pushed open the door into a dimly lit reception area and walked up to the front desk. Judy peeked past the fox and saw an unkempt yak meditating behind the desk. The large mammal raised the hair covering his eyes and looked down at them.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," he drawled. "We already have enough Bunny Scout cookies." Judy ignored the snicker from the fox beside her and approached the counter with a picture of Emmitt Otterton.   
"I'm not a Bunny Scout. I'm a police officer with the ZPD and I would like to ask if you have seen this otter?" The yak lifted up his hair again and looked at the picture Judy held up and nodded.  
"Yep. That's Emmitt Otterton. He does yoga with Nani, we can ask her." The yak began walking out from behind the desk as Judy gave Nick a triumphant grin. He gave her a flat grunt before pointing behind her at the naked yak opening the door.  
"Good grief, you're naked!" Judy exclaimed as she scrambled to cover her eyes. The yak chuckled and turned to the two mammals.  
"Of course I am!" He exclaimed as he pushed the doors open. "We're a naturalist club!" Judy's eyes widened in horror as inside revealed a beautiful Oasis filled with naked animals. Nick leaned down next to her with a satisfied half grin.  
"You can be whatever you want in Zootopia, and these guys? They be naked." He stood back up and followed the yak into the main yard. He turned to her with his arms spread in a mocking manner. "Come on, Carrots. We don't have all- GAH!"  
"ROOMY!" The fox was tackled from the back by a brown and black blur. The two tumbled in the grass until the larger mammal jumped back up lifting Nick up above her head effortlessly. "It's been, like, three years, bro!" The mammal that tackled the red fox was a spotted hyena that was ridiculously toned, as in every muscle was visible. It didn't help that she was completely naked and had something dangling between her legs.   
"Put him down, Alyssa," an Arctic fox wearing a suit with glasses approached them with a sigh. "Nick probably doesn't appreciate being in a WWE fight with you." He tapped her shoulder and she lowered the shellshocked fox to the ground.   
"Thanks Silva," Nick said shakily as he put distance between himself and the hyena. "A simple hello would have sufficed, Alyssa."   
"Come on, Broseph," Alyssa slapped the fox's back hard as she laughed. "You got some tone now? Niiiiiiice. Maybe we could lift together at the gym sometime." Nick rolled his eyes and sighed.  
"I see you never changed," he grumbled. He turned to the other fox and began talking to him about something else under their breath. Judy was about to get closer to hear them when she almost got a face full of hyena junk. Her eyes traced upward of the muscular physique until she met the light brown eyes of the mammal that owned them.  
"Hey there." Judy jumped back as the hyena looked at her full form in interest. "Built for speed. Lean, but not pure speed. Legs got some kick. Hips are pretty full. You Nick's girlfriend?"   
"Um, no?" The rabbit was a bit taken aback by the assumption and gave the predator a questioning look. "Why?"  
"Nothing. Just that you seem like his type. You're even a prey animal," Alyssa responded with a wave of her hand. "I mean it is out of a pool of a single mammal, but that's the only one I know Nick's been steady with."  
"Wait, Nick dated a bunny?" Judy asked incredulously.  
"Pfft, No! But I signed a confidentiality agreement, so I can't tell you anything, unfortunately. It was a roomy agreement, actually," the hyena sighed in disappointment. Judy noticed the yak walking back to them while scratching his head.   
"Yeah, so Nani gave me some good info on Emmitt Otterton," the yak started. Judy pulled out her notepad and began scribbling the information down.  
"You mean the otter who got into the white car with the nice silver trim?" Alyssa interrupted.  
"Yeah! And it needed a tune up! Third cylinder wasn't firing."  
"Brake pad needed to be replaced as well, most likely driving through sand or snow," The Arctic fox talking to Nick interjected. Both foxes joined the group as Silva's blue eyes looked at Judy curiously. "Any reason why you are looking for it?"  
"Mr. Otterton has gone missing and we are trying to looking for him." The white fox nodded and gestured for her notepad. She handed it and her carrot pen to him, which Nick chuckled at. He jot something down and gave it back. There was a license plate number written in clean and beautiful handwriting. "Oh! Thank you! Uh, Mr. Silva?"  
"My name's Silva Summers, Officer Hopps," he chuckled. The rabbit went rigid as she looked more closely at him. He did have similar facial features as the ZBI Director, even the same posture. He noticed her change of demeanor and cocked his head to the side. "You okay?"  
"You wouldn't happen to be related to Director Skye Summers by any chance, would you?" She asked in a faux joking tone. Both Nick and Silva laughed at that.   
"Wait, Carrots," Nick looked very amused. "You were one of the terrorized classes of the ZPD? I think you just earned some respect from me! Skye is brutal, so you still making it to a cop is impressive!"   
"To answer your question, yes. I am Director Summers' little brother," Silva responded. "She used to babysit me and the Wilde's before she was in the ZBI."   
"Babysit is an understatement. We were her first victims of her Fanatical Fitness Hour," Nick grumbled. "Easy to tell when they had her. It's a special kind of fear." Silva and Alyssa laughed and both draped an arm over either of his shoulders.  
"C'mon, Nicky! You have to admit we got more hardships thrown at us than other mammals!" Alyssa laughed.  
"And now look at us! Successful against the odds. Anything life threw at us was nothing compared to what Big Sis put us through!" Silva shook the red fox, who gave a resigned smile.  
"Yeah, I guess because of her I never took the easy way," Nick said as he looked over at Judy. "Which means me and Carrots have to find this otter. Maybe we can catch up soon." He shrugged off both mammals and turned to give them a two finger salute.  
"Good luck!" Alyssa chirped as she grabbed the Arctic fox's arm and pulled him away. The two foxes shared a knowing look before Nick turned to Judy.  
"Well Officer Hopps? Let's run that plate." Judy nodded and clicked open her radio.  
"Clawhauser? Can you run a plate for me?" Judy waited patiently until Clawhauser's nervous voice came over.  
"Um, about that Judy… Apparently the mammals in data management just put you in the system and it will take forty-eight hours for it to process," the cheetah replied meekly. Judy felt her blood boil as she began breathing heavily.  
"What? I've been working at the ZPD for a MONTH!" She snarled into the walkie as the Clawhauser began spouting out apologies. She was about to chew him out before a larger hand snatched the radio from her hand.  
"That will be all Officer Clawhauser," Judy snapped her attention to the red fox holding her mic. He gave her a concerned glare before clicking the walkie off. "Are you okay Officer Hopps? Take deep breaths and count to ten." Judy was about to snap at him and thought better of it. She was a ZPD Officer. Not some random thug. She closed her eyes and counted to ten while taking measured breaths. She felt the rush of blood slow down around her head and opened her eyes to an amused fox.  
"Sorry about that," she began to apologize before Nick held up a hand.  
"Don't worry about it Carrots," he said as he began walking towards the exit. "I already know you rabbits are very emotional." It took Judy several seconds to process what he said and she began chasing after him.   
"What did you say?!" She called after him. The fox turned to her and jabbed a thumb in the direction of the exit.  
"C'mon Carrots," he chuckled. "Every hour that passes lowers the chance of us finding Mr. Otterton. Got a friend at the DMZ who can help us." The rabbit growled and followed him. She never believed she could meet someone so annoying and efficient at the same time.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Alex readjusted his vest and earpiece before sighing and leaning his head back. If he was forced to chase anyone, they were getting shot in the back. His weather-tech long sleeved shirt was stuffed into a bag because Skye used it to clean up their mess and he was stuck wearing his emergency sleeveless shirt under his vest. He took a few more seconds to rest before exiting the car. He didn't even make into the ZPD until he heard Shelon screaming. He rolled his eyes as he followed the voice to his team. He found Honey sleeping underneath a tree as Darren and Sheila used the armadillo as a tetherball on the same tree. Frank was probably inside the ZPD building still. He looked around for Nick and Judy and couldn't find them. The light gray fox sighed as he walked up to the tree and caught Shelon in mid-swing.  
"Where's Nick and Judy?" He asked his second in command. The armadillo blinked several times to gather his bearings before shrugging.  
"I put them on one of the ZPD missing mammals cases. Seemed safer for them considering they both probably don't have the constitution to kill a mammal." Alex couldn't argue with that. He probably would've done something similar had he been there. He cut down the armadillo from the rope and began walking back to the Precinct.  
"Meet me in Room 202 in fifteen minutes so we can look over the data we got from Director Summers," he said as he waved a flash drive in the air.   
"By the way, how was waiting for almost two hours with the Director?" Shelon asked behind him with a knowing tone. Alex shot a devious look at his friend.  
"It was... tiring. Sheila? Punt the Shelon," Alex said with a flat tone.  
"Punt the Shelon?" The zebra asked hopefully.  
"Don't punt the Shelon!" The armadillo exclaimed erratically.  
"PUNT THE SHELON!" Sheila yelled as she kicked the smaller mammal into a hedge. Alex laughed as he watched his friend sail through the air and adopted a satisfied smirk. Shelon might be his closest friend, but he should really be careful about what comes out of his mouth.


End file.
